US Supreme Court focuses on standing in GHG case

摘要

The US Supreme Court's decision in the Massachusetts v. EPA case is likely to hinge on whether the justices believe the states have legal standing to sue the federal government over its climate change policies. The justices spent most of today's oral arguments pressing lawyers for Massachusetts and the Department of Justice (DOJ) on the issue of standing, giving only a few minutes to the question of whether EPA has the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. The issue boils down to whether the states have shown that they are or will be hurt by global warming and that reducing emissions from US automobiles, which represent 6 pct of global emissions, will be sufficient to reduce that harm.